Snapshot
by RavenAK
Summary: Apparently unconnected fragments in time, about nothing, about everything, about them. Soul/Maka/Crona, because ever since their roads met they are undividable. Mangaverse.
1. 01 Stereo Love

"**Snapshot" **By RavenAK.

Apparently unconnected fragments of time, about everything, about nothing, about them. Soul/Maka/Crona, because ever since their roads met they are undividable.

**Disclaimer: **Soul Eater belongs to Ohkubo Atsushi, Square Enix and Shônen GanGan. Not me. No, sir. The song Stereo Love belongs to its rightful owners, whoever they are.

**Warning: **Spoilers for the manga. They might get heavier as the story progresses.

**Author's Notes: **Hey y'all! (waves enthusiastically) I bring you a collection of one-shots which are connected to each other, that means that they follow some sort of chronological order but they aren't exactly one-after-the-other, if that makes sense.

Oh and by the way, I gave Crona a female gender in this one, not because I am particularly inclined to believe that Crona is female, but because I needed a gender to work with, so I flipped a coin and got female. If you prefer, you can mentally replace all the words for male ones, because Crona's gender is not relevant to the story at all.

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><p><strong>One: Stereo Love.<strong>

_I'm hiding it inside_

_My heart is in pain_

_But I'm smiling for you…_

It's all melody and silence…

It takes a pretty good hearing, a musician's hearing, to recognize and listen to the silence. It's more than the simple absence of sound. It has a meaning, it has a time, and there's a whole feeling behind it.

Emotional turmoil…

Darkness…

And the occasional denial.

She has been silent for the past two hours, and he has been listening. Her silence sounds –feels- like lots of things: Depression, angst, despair, frustration, _fear_.

More than anything, she's afraid. Afraid that things will never be the same, that she won't be able to save her, that she might even have to kill her…

She speaks in the form of awkward, longing silence. He doesn't want to snap her out of it, because she feels safe in the comfort of silence, and because he knows that she will find a way through…

But he wishes he could give her an answer to prove her wrong. There's none. The simple truth is that Crona has reached the point of no return, has lost the remains of her humanity and can never come back. That is the one awful truth, and he knows that she knows, but neither one of them can do anything about it.

Then she breaks the silence.

"Do you think… that we could…?" She doesn't dare to finish, but she doesn't have to.

"We could try". He answers truthfully. They _could_ try, no guarantee that they could succeed, though. "I mean, we haven't tried everything yet. We still have the Chain Resonance, and we could retrieve the Brew. We haven't tried those with Crona".

"Yeah…" She sighs. "There has to be a way".

"I'm sure there is". This time he lies. He knows from experience that the only way to defeat madness is with a strong soul, one that is courageous and confident, and willing to fight for what's important for the person. That's why, for him, it has been a constant battle.

Crona, on the other hand, has a very fragile mind, marked by the numerous psychological and physical forms of torture that she's gone through. She's constantly trying to escape and to lock herself away from the world. She doesn't even want to deal with her own life…

She's the perfect candidate for a Kishin, stronger than the current one. Fear incarnate. Madness. Paranoia. Always there, in the shadows, waiting for a moment of hesitation to engulf a person's strong will and confidence, to leave them exposed and raw, apparently powerful but actually vulnerable.

That's Crona's true potential.

It's not exactly a joy ride.

She breaks the silence again.

"I don't…" Her voice breaks. "I don't want to lose her, Soul, it's not her fault…"

She stares right into his eyes, but he's unable to figure out what she's looking for. There is nothing he can say. The way he sees it, there are two ways in which this can turn out: One, Crona destroys Shibusen, Shinigami-sama and everything in between; or two, they manage to either kill her or seal her away. Either way, nobody wins. Either way, Maka is going to get hurt. Either way, she's never gonna get her well-deserved happy ending. And it fills him with a rage that he's never felt before, and he doesn't even know who he's angry at.

Then she starts sobbing, and he feels all the rage turn into the deepest of sadness.

"It's not fair…" She almost whispers, bringing a hand to her face to wipe the tears that are starting to fall.

"No, it's not". He agrees, as he comes closer to her, wrapping his arms around her. He's never been good at comforting anyone, but then again, it's not like he's ever _tried_.

She hugs him back, less awkwardly, and starts crying out loud. He can feel her pain surrounding his own soul, tightening and smothering him. He just wishes he could take it all away.

It's all unfair, but he can't really blame anyone. It's certainly not Crona's fault, but she's causing her so much pain. Maybe if they hadn't met before, she would just be another enemy they would have to defeat, nothing else.

Of course, it wouldn't be fun for Medusa if Maka was not emotionally involved.

However, there's no use wondering about the 'what if's' and the 'what could have been's', because they're currently in a position where their lives depend on what happens to Crona. And it scares him to know how closely connected they are.

They share the same blood, after all…

He shivers, and Maka feels it, for she loosens her hold on him and starts silently sobbing and hiccupping instead. He simply puts a hand on the back of her head.

He could become just like that person, he's been so close. He could end up hurting her just as much… It's not fair that she has to live with that.

A part of him, the secret and cowardly one, actually wishes for Crona to erase everything, so that neither of them will have to suffer anymore. The reasonable part of him, on the other hand, wants to preserve this crazy little world he lives in, if only for Maka's sake.

If it was up to him, he would do anything just to make her stop hurting. He would give everything he has ever had if it gave him the chance of seeing her happy again.

When she releases him and avoids looking at him, wiping her tears with her sleeves, he notices that she's shaking.

"Hey". He says, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Giving up isn't cool, okay?"

She looks up surprised and smiles, even if she knows that he's just pretending to be brave for her.

Because they both like to put up a front for each other, because they're both naïve and stupid teenagers with impossible dreams and they still pretend that they can do anything.

Because right now, he will do anything and everything to make it stop already.

And inside his mind, his little Ogre plays an upbeat tune and chuckles, because he knows it's true…

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><p>That's the end of the first one-shot. Please review to tell me your opinion and if you would like for me to continue! n.n<p> 


	2. 02 It's Not the End of the World

"**Snapshot" **By RavenAK.

Apparently unconnected moments in time, about everything, about nothing, about them. Soul/Maka/Crona, because ever since their roads connected they are undividable.

**Disclaimer: **Soul Eater belongs to Ohkubo Atsushi, Square Enix and Shônen GanGan. Not me. No, sir. The song It's Not the End of the World belongs to Lostprophets.

**Warning: **Spoilers for the manga. They might get heavier as the story progresses.

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><p><strong>Two: It's Not the End of the World<strong>

_It's not the end of the world now, baby_

_So come on, dry those tears,_

_It's not the end of the world now, darling_

_But I can see it from here…_

Friendship: It's a strong bond between two people, who often share the same interests, and who always help and support each other. It's a wonderful thing… but it's not unbreakable. To the contrary, it's extremely fragile. It's like a contract: If you don't do what you have promised, you lose all your rights over that friendship.

Maka always had wonderful friends. They always supported each other, even when they were all so different, but what mattered was that they had the same goals, so they did everything in their power to help each other out.

Crona was completely different. She was unstable and awkward, had never trusted anyone, blindly obeyed her mother, didn't have any dreams of her own, and was in desperate need for some unconditional acceptance and affection. She couldn't reciprocate her friendship like her other friends did. But it was alright. She would help her.

Maka found herself constantly looking after her, as if she were a lost child, losing sleep worrying over her, and trying with all her might to make her fit in, to help her make friends and adjust to school and be an overall nice person.

Crona was like her child, her project, her biggest frustration. And every time Crona failed, _she _failed. It was as if everything she did had been for nothing.

It had always been like that since they became friends, Maka had never even wondered why. It was simply natural for her, to look after her best friend, to try to fix her, to save her from everything, from herself…

She never questioned it, not until now.

Not until now that Crona is insane, laughing like a maniac, eyes wide open and grinning like a Cheshire cat. Not until now that Crona is wielding three swords made of her own black blood and swinging them around carelessly, yet confidently, as if she's certain that she can, and will, kill her easily.

It's only now that she looks at her _failure_ and realizes that she's no better than Medusa. That just like her, she was trying to destroy a part of Crona's personality, to force her to only show one side of her and exploit it, to make her suitable to her plans and to make her fit in her world by force.

It's as if both Maka and Medusa had been pulling at either side of Crona and they broke her in the end. And she broke, because she loved them both so much…

And then she had to destroy them both.

It all makes sense to Maka when Crona confesses how she killed her own mother. She says it with a smile of relief, but her eyes show nothing but fear. She's broken. Divided. Psychotic. She destroyed the one who made her who she is, and now she's going to do the same to the one who showed her who she _wanted to be_…

And she doesn't even have the will to fight back.

Because it's only now that it hits her: She's not that different from Medusa, it was their selfishness combined what turned Crona into a deadly threat. And it's only now that she realizes, there's no point to fighting anymore, because she just wanted to be the best Meister, to make the best Death Scythe, to surpass her Mama and Papa, to make them proud, or to prove how she doesn't need them, she's not even sure anymore; but she has been brave, she has given it her all, followed the rules, respected the law, fulfilled her dreams and yet there is no satisfaction, no reward, for all she has gotten is her mother's absence, her father's inability to man up and be a real father she can look up to, her classmates' indifference, the guilt of watching her partner having to fight against the darkness within him on a daily basis _because of her_, and now the pain of watching her best friend losing the remains of her humanity and coming to murder her…

What has her effort been for, anyway?

It's as if everything she has done has been for nothing. Just like with her parents' marriage, there's nothing that a frail and insignificant little girl like her can do.

As she watches Crona walking to her almost in slow-motion, the only thing she hears is Soul's distant voice calling for her as their resonance seems to weaken, vanish, _fade_.

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><p>I think this one is slightly better than the first.<p>

Thanks for reading, and reviews are always welcome and appreciated! n.n


	3. 03 Song to Say Goodbye

"**Snapshot" **By RavenAK.

Apparently unconnected moments in time, about everything, about nothing, about them. Soul/Maka/Crona, because ever since their roads connected they are undividable.

**Disclaimer: **Soul Eater belongs to Ohkubo Atsushi, Square Enix and Shônen GanGan. Not me. No, sir. The song "Song to Say Goodbye" belongs to Placebo.

**Warning: **Spoilers for the manga. They might get heavier as the story progresses.

**Author's Note: **Remember when I said it followed some sort of chronological order? Well, screw that. This chapter describes the same situation of the previous one, but from a different perspective. I hope it's acceptable at least.

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><p><strong>Three: Song to Say Goodbye<strong>

_Now I'm trying to wake you up,_

_To pull you from the liquid sky,_

'_cause if I don't we'll both end up_

_With just your song to say goodbye…_

He doesn't know how it started, and he has no idea of how it will end. The only thing that's certain is that they have been assigned to kill Crona before she decides to kill them instead.

It would be reasonable, logical even, if it were any other foe; but it's Crona, Maka's best friend, the person she cares for the most, the one that they will never forget, the one that has caused her so much pain and yet made her so happy.

It's unfair no matter how you look at it.

It's even worse being in his position. His duty, his _instinct_, is to always protect his Meister from anything, from anyone, anytime. He's always ready for everything that may come her way, he would never let anything happen to her; and yet, her orders are completely different: Nobody shall hurt Crona critically, it's only allowed to slap her or punch her or _kick her_ if it's necessary to make her snap out of it, but it's not allowed to hurt her with the intention of causing her damage.

Which puts him in a suicidal position.

He basically has to watch his Meister exchange words, philosophical arguments, punches and kicks with her best enemy-friend-enemy, while being attentive to block the latter's attacks so that the former doesn't get stabbed, sliced in half, beheaded or anything of the sort. He has to switch between weapon, human and flying scythe form depending on the need of the moment, and he has to keep his cool while resonating with her, so her frustration and rage won't eat him alive.

If that wasn't enough, he also has to keep calm and try not to come in direct contact with the Black Blood which is pouring out of Crona's swords, and come up with logical arguments to make the Little Demon just shut the fuck up, because this is not the time to talk about his envy, his insecurities and his mental unstability…

It seems easy enough…

So far, they have been fighting for around 10 minutes and no one has lost a limb yet, so he thinks they're doing a good job… that is, until Maka runs out of statements and her knuckles are bleeding and her breathing is ragged and unsteady.

"Crona! Listen to me, this is not you!" She screams. "This is not the Crona I know!"

Crona laughs and attempts to stab her, but fails. "This is not the Crona you know, this is me. I am myself and no one else".

"No! You're not like this, you're a sweet and caring person, you're a good person, underneath all that!" She kicks her in the chest and she falls on her back. "You're a good person who has been manipulated!"

Maka stands over her as Crona just stares at the sky. She sees the blonde girl offering her a hand to help her up, and she remembers that one time when she first offered her hand, that one time when they became friends.

Friends, was it?

Friends.

Something ignites on her veins and she grins widely. She takes the hand and gets up, seeing her face to face. Maka smiles, and Crona lifts one of her swords in the air.

She sees her face turn to panic as she backs away quickly, and then uses her scythe to fly above her. Crona stabs the air where she was a moment ago.

"Ah, how troublesome". Crona states as she keeps attempting to stab her. "I will have to try a different killing method".

Maka flies away until she's a few meters away from her, then jumps off to the ground wielding Soul in weapon form again, guarding herself with his blade. She tries one more time:

"Crona, wake up! I'm your friend, you don't want to kill me!"

"Friends, is it? A dark person like myself doesn't have something like a friend".

"You do! I am! I've always been! I still believe in you!"

"Medusa-sama took it away… Medusa-sama took my friend away… She took everything away… She took _me_ away…"

"But just because she's evil, it doesn't mean that you are! You're only doing this because she told you to, right? You don't really want to do this! You have been killing all of these people because you're scared of her! Because you want to make her proud, so she won't punish you anymore!"

"No…"

"You want her to be pleased because she's your mother, you want her approval, you want to be accepted…"

"No…"

"I know it because… I, too… I wanted to be always better, I wanted to be accepted, I wanted to be approved of… But I don't need that anymore, because I have friends who accept me for who I am, friends who support me, friends who are willing to bring me back no matter how far I go! And you've got me! You don't have to listen to Medusa, you don't need to do what she tells you to!"

"No… There is no Medusa". Crona looks at her right in the eyes. "I took her away. Stab. Stab. Stab. Stab…"

She keeps repeating that damned word as her grin widens and she walks up to them very slowly, swinging around her swords.

Maka's face goes completely blank, her body numb and her soul unreadable, unreachable, as the words start to sink in.

Soul tries reaching out to her, to get her out of that trance, to shake her up, to get her to react and do _something_, but she's someplace far away.

Symbolically, it's like she's slowly letting go of his hand.

He calls for her more desperately, because Crona is walking up to them scarily and smugly, and she seems to be enjoying it, or at the very least, feeling way too comfortable with it, but Maka is not there; her body hasn't moved an inch, but her soul seems to be lost somewhere else.

He keeps trying to reach out to her, as Crona keeps approaching them, repeating the same word over and over.

"Maka!"

"Stab, stab…"

"Makaaaa!"

"Stab, stab…"

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><p>I can't write a fight scene to save my life, can you tell? –sighs- Thanks for reading, and please review with your opinions on the story!<p> 


	4. 04 Imaginary

"**Snapshot" **By RavenAK.

Apparently unconnected moments in time, about everything, about nothing, about them. Soul/Maka/Crona, because ever since their roads connected they are undividable.

**Disclaimer: **Soul Eater belongs to Ohkubo Atsushi, Square Enix and Shônen GanGan. Not me. No, sir. The song "Imaginary" belongs to Evanescence.

**Warning: **Spoilers for the manga. They might get heavier as the story progresses.

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><p><strong>Four: Imaginary<strong>

_In my field of paper flowers_

_And candy clouds of lullaby_

_I lie inside myself for hours_

_And watch my purple sky fly over me…_

It's all black and silent…

She's floating in a sea of nothing, just staring ahead. For some reason, she ended up here alone in her own mind. As soon as Crona spoke those words, she felt her whole world breaking down around her, and she felt her own soul leaving everything behind.

Nothing makes sense anymore. Medusa was her enemy, she wanted to kill her, because of everything she did to both Crona and Soul, to both her best friend and her partner. She was going to kill Medusa to save them from her, but now the tables have turned and it makes no sense anymore. Crona, who was supposed to be the one in danger, the one being corrupted and manipulated, killed her own mother instead, becoming the hunter, and now she's going to kill her as well.

The person she was trying to save is coming to kill her, and she's not being manipulated anymore, she's acting on her own, she really wants to do it.

She has succeeded, Crona is free.

Crona is free, and she's a monster.

Maka hates herself for being so stupid, so naïve, for thinking that it would be alright in the end when it clearly _isn't_, for pretending that she could turn back time, to the moment when Crona was her friend and they were happy.

For thinking that she's not inherently evil.

She has been lying to herself by believing such ridiculous things, and her friends have supported her even if they didn't share her cause, and Shinigami-sama has outright lied to her face, promising to protect Crona and then adding her to his hit list.

She just wants to lock herself out of it all, to fall asleep and only wake up when this nightmare is over.

She floats into the nothingness. This is not her soul, it's something else. It's a place of darkness and despair. She doesn't want to sleep here; she wants to go back to her shelter where she retreated when she had a bad day, way back when she hadn't discovered the comfort of a good book and a cup of tea, when her Papa still lived with her and her Mama, and they argued and fought and threw insults at each other. When she didn't have the ability to defend herself, when she was scared.

Back then she used to retreat to an imaginary world inside of her mind, a world which she ruled, which she controlled, and it made her forget how weak and insignificant she was… But then she grew up, her Mama left, her Papa got pushed away and she couldn't go back to that wonderland anymore; because she was a big girl, she was rational and logical, but most of all she was brave, and she could face the reality even if it was hard, she didn't need to hide away.

Until now.

Now she desperately wants to retreat to that magical place where time flies by, where she rules and controls everything, where there only is what she wants there to be, where she can play until she's tired and ready to go back to reality, when her parents have made up and they all go to get some ice cream.

When Crona is good and nice and happy. When Soul is not hurt.

She falls quicker into the nothingness until she hits the ground, but this ground is soft and comforting, and she knows that there's nothing out there that can make her go back.

When she opens her eyes, she's lying on her back, looking at the sky with its beautiful, fluffy clouds and breathing in the sweet smell of the lake right next to her. The lake is a bright shade of pink, and when she sits up she's able to see the tall trees with all kinds of flowers and fruits. This is her wonderland, it's exactly like she remembers it.

But something is different: Instead of the puffy dress, the tiara and the ribbons she used to wear back then, she's wearing her Spartoi uniform, all covered in dirt, and she's bruised everywhere; but she's here and it's all that matters.

She starts walking slowly towards nowhere in particular, and even when she knows that she must be dreaming, or hallucinating, her limbs are aching with every step.

She finds the castle which she used to play in, where she was the Princess, and remembers how that Princess used to be all alone up there, except when she occasionally locked away her Papa in the dungeon until he promised he wouldn't make her Mama angry again. She can't help but smile bitterly, everything used to be so simple back then.

The Princess was always in a lonely tower in her castle, hiding away from everyone, being the only ruler and commander, of no one. She always played alone, she never let anybody in. Back then, she thought it was normal, pleasant even, for an only child to retreat to the depths of her imagination when reality was either frightening or boring; but now that she thinks about it, she should have had an imaginary friend at least, she should have let a little of that wonderland slip into the real world… But no, she was always so uptight, she never mixed dreams with reality, and she would never admit that she had such megalomaniac fantasies; she was no Black*Star.

She used to be all alone up there… So lonely and so very innocent.

The next thing she knows, she's opening the door to the room in that high tower, expecting to find her imaginary bedroom with her endless collection of toys and books.

Instead she finds a 6 year-old girl with ribbons in her hair, wearing a puffy princess dress and a small tiara. She has a mischievous smile on her round face, and tiny angel wings sprouting from her back.

It's her 6 year-old self… with wings. She surely doesn't remember _that_.

"Huh?"

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><p>Yeah. I think it's common agreement by most of the fandom that child!Maka can be found on her own soul, because it seems like every important andor traumatic experience that has made her the person she is, comes from her childhood. I added the fact that she sees her own child-self as a little angel because a) she's an angel fangirl, b) it was a time of pure innocence, and c) Soul gets a little demon, so it's only fair she gets a little angel. I'm gonna play with that concept later.

As always, thanks for reading, reviewing and subscribing!

Also, I think this is taking the form of a story more than a one-shot collection. I'm sorry, I don't even know what I'm doing anymore -sighs-


	5. 05 Cat and Mouse

"**Snapshot" **By RavenAK.

Apparently unconnected moments in time, about everything, about nothing, about them. Soul/Maka/Crona, because ever since their roads connected they are undividable.

**Disclaimer: **Soul Eater belongs to Ohkubo Atsushi, Square Enix and Shônen GanGan. Not me. No, sir. The song "Cat and Mouse" belongs to The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus.

**Warning: **Spoilers for the manga. They might get heavier as the story progresses.

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><p><strong>Five: Cat and Mouse<strong>

_Am I supposed to be happy?_

_With all I ever wanted_

_It comes with a price_

_You said that you would die for me…_

"Stab, stab, stab…" Crona repeats while swinging around her swords in all sorts of combinations, walking up to them ever so slowly.

Soul has now transformed back to his human form and is trying to make Maka react by shaking her shoulders and yelling at her face; however she's just sitting on the floor with a lost stare, not reacting, not _here_.

So much for keeping his cool, he's going to have a panic attack right here and now, because he's having flashbacks of that time when they were fighting Arachne and Maka wouldn't move, and that other time when they were fighting Giriko and she lost the will to fight, but he's sure that this time is much, much worse, because Crona is coming to kill them, and whatever the result may be, it's not going to be a happy one.

First of all, he doesn't stand a chance against Crona, she's pretty much invincible right now, and if he goes down, she will kill Maka. No. No no no he can't think of that because that's not a possibility. That's _never _a possibility.

If, in some unlikely scenario, some other Spartoi member shows up and beats the living crap out of Crona, Maka would never forgive that person, and she would never forgive _him_ for not stopping said person, not to mention that she would never forgive herself for letting it happen.

If Maka does snap out of it, and decides to fight, she will have to fight Crona to death, because this is it, the moment they always feared, the moment when Crona has become unredeemable and she's not holding back. One of them will kill the other, but he can't let that happen! He can't let his Meister die, but he can't aid her in killing her best friend, either.

"Dammit…" He sighs, clenching his teeth. Fate has screwed them all over; there's no hope for anyone, there's no choice. At this point, it's all about choosing the lesser of all evils. Should he let Crona go ahead and kill his Meister? No. Should he be a hero and let her kill him instead? That would be useless. Should he call for backup, ask his friends to defeat Crona for him? Double hazard: They might go overboard and kill her in self-defense, or they might end up infected with the Black Blood, which would be simply catastrophic.

He has to pick one option. What should he do? What would Maka do?

"I know someone who can help you with that…" The Little Imp suggests from within him. "It's just a little price to pay for the safety of your beloved Meister".

"I've told you, I don't want anything from you". He replies, finding himself sitting in the same old chair of the same old Black Room, as his interlocutor walks around him slowly, almost as a cop questioning him.

"Well, well, you haven't even heard my offer yet… And I think that you will like it".

"Doubt it. I don't have time for this, anyway".

"You can save them both. You can save everyone". The despicable Imp whispers mysteriously. "I only ask for one meaningless sacrifice".

"I have no intention to give up my life in a heroic sacrifice". Soul shrugs, standing up. "I'm not that kind of guy".

"Oh, I know, I know, because I am also a part of you. You don't want to be acknowledged as a hero, you don't want to be remembered as a legend… Because that would mean that you cared… That you cared enough to throw away your life meaninglessly… And you would be remembered as the foolish one who thought he could. How infamous".

"You're wasting my time…"

"But… if you simply stay there doing nothing, you will be a failure".

"As if… That's not gonna work with me, you know?"

"Right. What's the point of trying when you've already lost?" The Oni sighs with an overdramatic expression.

The young man resists the urge to talk back to him, and shoots him a deathly glare instead.

"You're so afraid of failing that you give up too quickly". The despicable thing continues, sitting in Soul's chair comfortably. "Instead of being a mediocre musician, you chose not to be a musician at all".

The boy clenches his fists.

"And instead of being a useless Weapon who can't do a single thing for his Meister, you choose to pretend that the outcome of this fight is irrelevant… although it's anything but".

"Shut up…"

"But all humans are foolish by nature. They think that one answer is good enough for all questions. You can't really compare leaving behind a piano out of shame, with leaving behind the one person who trusts you with all her heart…"

He wants to bite his head off. "That's not how it is".

"Oh, of course not. You walked away from your old life, from your family, because you kept on disappointing them, and yourself. Because you were a mediocre musician who couldn't do anything right, and your brother was so talented… so gifted, that it was a shame he was in the same family as you…"

He jumps off the chair rather merrily. "But this is completely different: You have the choice to run away from this as well, to go back to the safety of your home, so you won't have to face anyone looking like a coward. Because you're a mediocre weapon who can't do anything right, and your partner is so brave… so amazing, that it's a shame you're even in the same team… You _could_ leave, right now, pretend that this is not even your fight, and leave your little friends to deal with it, but you don't _want to_. And it's not a matter of pride, it's not a matter of how pathetic you look right now not knowing what to do, it's because you _care_. You can't walk away knowing that you'll leave her unarmed and alone, that she will get killed so easily. You have to do something, anything, even if it's the last thing you ever do".

Soul relaxes his hands. Denying what the little bastard just said would mean lying to himself. He sighs… It's happening.

"Name your price and I'll consider it".

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><p>As always, any and every comment on the story is appreciated. Thank you for reading! n.n<p> 


	6. 06 Meds

"**Snapshot" **By RavenAK.

Apparently unconnected moments in time, about everything, about nothing, about them. Soul/Maka/Crona, because ever since their roads connected they are undividable.

**Disclaimer: **Soul Eater belongs to Ohkubo Atsushi, Square Enix and Shônen GanGan. Not me. No, sir. The song "Meds" belongs to Placebo.

**Warning: **Spoilers for the manga. They might get heavier as the story progresses.

* * *

><p><strong>Six: Meds<strong>

_How it mattered to us,_

_How it mattered to me,_

_And the consequences._

_I was confused_

_By the birds and the bees_

_Forgetting if I meant it…_

"W-Who are you? What does this mean?" Maka stumbles back as she looks at her own child self.

"I am you". The little one answers. "Or maybe you are me. And this is our place".

"But… How can we both be here? You're not supposed to be here if I am here… I'm supposed to replace you".

"You're no replacement." The little girl goes on, walking around the room, and organizing some colorful papers. "You're a part of me as I am a part of you. See?"

She shows her one of the papers, a bright orange one with a drawing of herself wearing her first Shibusen uniform. She then remembers, she had drawn it a long, long time ago, when she was just a child envisioning her future as a brave and powerful Meister, just like Mama.

"I always dreamed of becoming you". The child continues. "A big girl with strength and courage. And I did."

The older girl blushes slightly, as the other continues: "And now you dreamed of becoming me: a little girl with no responsibilities, with no pain, just fantasy and happiness…"

"I… I always felt safe here". She responds, looking around the gorgeous room, the endless lines of fairy tale books and stuffed animals filling up the place. She used to love playing here and losing herself in this parallel world… It was so… _soothing_.

"And now you're here! You can stay in this place forever!" She opens her arms for emphasis. "We can play forever, we never have to leave!"

"I would love that…" She smiles sadly. "But I have to come back".

"No, you don't!" She pouts. "You can stay here with me, we can play together!"

"I'm sorry… Maka-chan…" It feels weird to call her own name like that. "I came here because I was too scared, but I have to face the reality sooner or later".

"You don't have to face that! The real world is just too painful". She says with tears in her eyes. "It's awful and scary… It's filled with lies and betrayal… Nobody cares for us out there, Maka! Nobody will miss us! Nobody loves us!"

"What are you talking about? Of course I will be missed, by all my friends, and Papa too!"

"Lies!" She screams, making the walls of the room crack. "They all lie, all of them! Papa says that he loves us, but he lies to us; Crona said you were her friend, but she lied, and she wants to kill us-!"

"I know that Crona has done terrible things, but… but she's still my friend". She fights the urge to cry. "I have to save her. That's why I need to leave-"

"You can't". Maka hears the door closing and locking itself. "You can't leave now. If you go back, you will have to kill her. Is that what you want?"

Her eyes now look menacing, and she spreads her wings, looking a bit more threatening.

"O-Of course that's not what I want! I'm going to save her, I'll find a way!"

The cracks on the walls start to mend themselves. Maka notices, but decides not to comment on it at the moment.

"There's no point…" The little one continues. "It is too late, we can't do anything. Let's just stay here".

The cracks open up again, deeper, and she can feel the sun rays coming through them.

"It's not too late! Please let me go back! We haven't tried everything yet… That's what Soul-" Right, _Soul_. "Oh my God, I left Soul alone out there, I need to get back!"

"There's no point". The little Angel shakes her head sadly. "If you go back, you will have to face all the pain in the world. The physical injuries, the open wounds, as well as the pain of killing your best friend, the lies, the loneliness…"

With each one of her words, the walls fall apart, but they don't break or crumble like they do in the real world; they fall slowly and carefully, like disembodied pieces of a puzzle. Maka is suddenly aware of how fantastic this world is, of how tiny and fragile her soul really is… And the room remains intact despite the lack of walls, the door stays locked in place, and she can actually look at the sky, so bright, yellow, and _fake_.

The little Angel continues her speech: "Your best friend will die, and you will fall into depression; you'll never be able to smile again, you'll never be able to wield a weapon again, and eventually, all your other friends will leave you. Soul will leave you, too, and he will move on with his life. He can't wait for you to come out of your sorrow, because you never will. He will lie, too, he will say it's not your fault, he will lie just like everyone else and then he'll turn his back on you!"

The Meister hangs her head down as she clenches her fists, small tears starting to come to life at the corners of her eyes. She doesn't want to believe what she's saying, but it makes perfect sense; after all, this person knows her better than anyone, she's her own self, her inner child, her innocence, a human representation of her Grigori soul…

"The world is painful, Maka…" The little one continues, as she looks out at the impossibly perfect sky. "Life is full of dangers and pain, lies and betrayal, you take too many blows and then you die. There is no reward, no matter how hard you try. You worked all your life to be a Death Scythe Meister, and what for? To end up bitter and alone, hating the world, hating your own gods, losing all faith, in everyone, in everything… It's not worth it".

"No, I still have reasons to fight…" She says weakly, still not looking up.

"Even Mama gave up on you. She left you behind, not caring about what happened to you… She knew you would end up just like her, as a lonely Meister, disappointed in her own Weapon, in her own god, in her own city. She ran away so she could leave it behind… And you were left behind as well, because you're just a big mistake…"

"Shut up".

"She should have never stayed with Papa, she would have been much happier if she had stayed alone, not having to put up with his lies and his empty promises…"

Maka bites her bottom lip, clenching her fists tighter, her nails digging into her palms.

"And you, on top of that… Born out of a marriage without love, out of another lie; you, who kept reminding her of the mistake she made the day she joined her life with his; you, who have only been cherished by your father because of the guilt he feels over losing her; you, who are just a tool for a Death God's institution; you, who try to save your friend but can't even fix your own life; you, on top of that, chose to repeat her history… Living up to her, doing everything exactly the way she did it… Even making the same mistake of falling in love with a man who could never love you back, even if you forced him to".

The tears now start running down freely, as she tries to keep her sobbing as quiet as possible. It's true, it's all true. All of the things that the Little Angel just said are things that she has feared during most of her life, things that she has tried to deny and forget, pushing them to the depths of her unconsciousness, things that constantly resurface in the form of doubts, overcompensation, rage, frustration, stubbornness… Things that scare her more than any kishin or witch ever could.

And then she understands it all: The real reason to why she's here, with her own child self, to why she's trying to keep her here, to why this imaginary world is falling apart while luring her in…

It's the madness. Not the dark, nightmare-looking madness that she's used to face constantly, it's the inner madness that comes from cowardice and childishness, the one that attempts to lock you away from the world in order to protect you from it, while hurting you even more; the madness born out of fear.

She let her fear eat her away and she almost gave in to it. _Almost_.

"You know, Maka-chan…" She says, now keeping her head high, not bothering to hide the tears from her own self anymore. "I think you're probably right".

The child has a puzzled look on her face, as her older self continues. "Mama left a long time ago… she's probably not coming back…"

The tears keep falling, but she doesn't stop talking. "But I know that she has her reasons for that, she's been working since she was very young, and she always wanted much more than being a wife and a mom. She deserves to do whatever she wants, to make her dreams come true, and I'll support her, even if I miss her so much!"

One of the fallen walls is suddenly back in place, as she expected. She smiles a bit and continues. "I know that Papa has made mistakes, _lots_ of them, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't love me, it just means that he's a stupid ass who can't think with his head! Even so… I love him just as much as he loves me".

Another wall returns to its place. This time her voice is louder. "Shinigami-sama is very mysterious when it comes to his plans and goals, but Shibusen has always been like my own home, it has given me so much pride and satisfaction, and even if I'm being used… it doesn't matter, because I know that I was born to be a Meister, and I will be one until the day I die!"

As another wall returns, the Angel looks frightened. Suddenly the older girl fills herself with courage and goes on: "Crona has gone too far… I can't even recognize her anymore, but I know that the one I know, the one who is my friend, is there somewhere, and I'm willing to find her".

The last of the walls puts itself back into place. The Angel looks around, terrified. It's her courage which gave her a hold on reality; despite how tempting this wonderland is, she has to leave it behind, along with her childish fears.

However, the door is still locked, and she knows why: If she can't open it up, she will stay here anyway, locking herself inside. Eventually her fears will start to taunt her again and she'll let her walls fall once again, revealing the fantastic but lonely world where she used to live, leaving her trapped inside of her own mind, losing all contact with the real world she longs to return to.

She takes one final deep breath: "And Soul… I… I know that there's a chance that he will never love me back… and when the time comes for him to break my heart… I'm not sure if I'll be able to take it, but…"

"But?" The Angel looks curious.

"But…" She smiles ever so sweetly. "What I feel for him, is so strong, that I'm willing to take any pain that comes with it".

She hears the door unlocking and twisting. The Angel is speechless, and has a mortified expression on her round face. Maka bends down to be at eye level with her and takes one of her small hands. "It's okay. I know you've been hurt time and time again, but not everyone out there is going to damage you. You should let other people in from time to time".

Tears start building up in the child's eyes. "But they keep on lying…"

"Sometimes they lie, and sometimes they tell the truth, but you won't know until you let them in. You're a brave girl, so you don't have to be afraid anymore!" Maka smiles cheerfully. "And if they try to hurt you, they'll have to defeat me first".

The little one nods and wipes away the tears, as Maka gets up and walks to the door, stopping to take one last look at the child.

"You'll be fine…"

"You, too".

Smiling confidently, she opens the door which leads her to a sea of black, where she can't see anything for a few seconds, but after she blinks a couple of times, she wakes up in the real world.

The first thing she hears is the clash of metal against metal, and the first thing she sees is the silhouettes of two battled-crazed individuals fighting to death in the distance.

As soon as her eyes adjust to her new location, they quickly open up in horror, because Soul is fighting Crona by himself, and they're both wearing that frightening trademark Black Blood grin while trying to slice each other in half.

She wants to scream, but can't even pick which name to cry.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>I'm not sure if anyone is reading this anymore, lol. But I still like how this chapter came out. Oh, well.


	7. 07 In The End

"**Snapshot" **By RavenAK.

Apparently unconnected moments in time, about everything, about nothing, about them. Soul/Maka/Crona, because ever since their roads connected they are undividable.

**Disclaimer: **Soul Eater belongs to Ohkubo Atsushi, Square Enix and Shônen GanGan. Not me. No, sir. The song "In The End" belongs to Linkin Park.

**Warning: **Spoilers for the manga. They might get heavier as the story progresses.

* * *

><p><strong>Seven: In The End<strong>

_I had to fall_

_To lose it all_

_But in the end_

_It doesn't even matter…_

"Finally…" The Little Imp chuckles, nibbling on its fingers. "You've finally listened to me…"

"Don't be so cocky. We made a deal". Soul is sitting at the piano bench, on the Black Room, his face a mix of disappointment and fear. The room is darker than ever, drowning out the red and white, leaving everything as if colored in a gray scale. He knows what will happen, he knows the chances, but he doesn't regret his decision, for he had no other choice.

"I know, I know. Don't hurt the girl". The Imp says with annoyance.

"Even if she attacks you". Soul completes for him.

"Not like she could stand a chance". It mocks. The bastard.

"You won't fight back". He glares at the demon.

They made a deal. Since Soul had no other choice, because his Meister's soul was gone somewhere else, and Crona was going to kill her, and he wasn't able to stop her, they had to be even in combat. He's a Death Scythe, yes, but he's weak without his Meister, and Crona is a perfect killing machine.

So he gave the bastard what he wanted: his soul, and part of his sanity; not all of it, because he can't afford running around killing everything that moves, but he needs power and strength, if he wants to keep the swordsman distracted while his Meister returns. The Imp can now eat him up from the inside and control him, put the Black Blood to use, use every move he's got against this powerful enemy…

And in return, he had to promise one thing: no matter the situation, he can't hurt his Meister. Even if she attacks him, he can't fight back; because if she does get hurt because of him, then this whole deal would be meaningless. His plan is not to let the little devil run rampant destroying everything in sight, his plan is precisely to prevent his Meister -the one person in the world he cares the most about-, from getting killed.

His plan is to use the Black Blood to be able to guard against Crona, while Maka decides to return. And when she does, she might find one or both of them dead… and this is the best possible scenario.

"You know, I always knew this day would come…" The red demon whispers in his mind, as he enjoys the sounds of the battlefield. "A day in which you would kill your rival for the sake of the one you love… How romantic".

Needless to say, it's anything but romantic. This will not have a happy ending for anyone… but well, he thinks again, love tends to end in tragedy.

With this new insanity-acquired power up, he's pretty sure he might be able to hit Crona critically, leave her incapacitated at the very least. The Black Blood does have a lot of potential, though he was hoping he would never have to use it to full capacity… especially not without her help.

In any case, if he happens to kill Crona our maul her up a bit, that won't be the end of it. The insanity that has been repressed for so long is now an unstoppable hunger for blood. The Imp controlling his body will want to kill anyone who nears him, including his friends, if they show up at the last minute, innocent bystanders, and of course, his Meister. Insanity knows no boundaries, that's why he made a deal.

There's a part of his soul and mind that the Imp can't touch, can't taint. There is a part of himself that he will protect with everything he's got; even if the darkness drowns him, he will keep a piece of sanity, a piece of common sense: his undying loyalty to protect his Meister. He made the Oni promise him, that even in his darkest hour, even when his senses are clouded by bloodlust and ecstasy, he will not harm her, he will be able to tell the difference.

That's why, she will be the only one able to stop him. She will have to kill him, seal him, lock him away, or _something,_ and he won't be able to fight back.

Long story short: He kills Crona, Maka kills him. The end.

Well… he never really believed in happy endings.

As he holds on to what appears to be a bubble of light –which is in fact, the last piece of his common sense- he can see the Imp dancing at the other end of the room, while there's _raining Black Blood_ inside.

On the real world, there's a mad exchange of hits, blows, punches, kicks, stabbing, dicing, needling… all the while both parties are cackling frighteningly, seemingly enjoying the fight they're sharing.

There's no way to tell who's winning, but he knows why there's raining blood on his mind. They're both injured, but it doesn't even matter. He understands that it won't be over until one of them stops breathing altogether, and as much as he hates to admit it, he hopes it won't be him, because then there will be no one who can protect his Meister from certain death.

The rain keeps falling, blood drops hitting and sliding down the piano, the furniture, and the Room's occupants themselves; the floor and curtains' color has faded, and the Imp is growing taller and prouder by the second. At the same time, Crona has successfully re-opened the scar in his body, while he has caused her a rather large wound on the shoulder. There's blood everywhere. It's _magnificent_.

The fighters only take a moment to comprehend the pain, before deciding that they quite enjoy it, and quickly they're aiming at each other's vital spots again. It's become a competition for them, where the only reward is the right to stay alive, alive to destroy everything and everyone, until there's nothing left except for the unbearable loneliness of their own souls.

Inside the Black Room, Soul understands how Crona has been feeling the whole time: so very afraid, of the others, but mostly afraid of herself. He understands why she had chosen to lock herself away from other people, as he can see his own darkness acting on its own now, how absolutely horrible and terrifying he can be. He's scared of the things he's capable of, and he knows that the only way to stop is to kill the monster along with himself. Same goes for Crona and her power of mass destruction.

The best possible outcome of this fight would be for Maka to have the mercy to kill them both.

Maka…

She had always tried to save them both, to keep them healthy and happy. She had managed to cut through the darkness, to get to the deepest corners of their souls, she had been stronger than the evil inside of them… She had given them hope, shared her light with them, she had made them see the world with other eyes, she had made them dependant on her, determined to protect her… She had made them love her endlessly, till the end of their days.

But she couldn't save them.

"I'm sorry…" He apologizes to the bubble of light he's holding, noticing that it's completely white, and actually has a pair of tiny wings on each side. His courage, or determination, or whatever it's supposed to be, is so small compared to Maka's courage, but it has her light, and her wings, the ones he's borrowed from her in the time they've spent as Meister and Weapon.

He can hear the frightening sound of Crona's laughter, combined with Ragnarok's screeches and his very own music, as fear, despair and self-loathing take over him…

And then something else is pulling the strings of his soul. It's sudden, and it hurts, and it's even more frightening. He turns around to look at the Little Demon, who looks just as confused as he does, and then sets his eyes on something –someone- who wasn't here before.

His Meister is inside his mind –_again_- and she's not looking happy.


	8. 08 Get Out Alive

"**Snapshot" **By RavenAK.

Apparently unconnected moments in time, about everything, about nothing, about them. Soul/Maka/Crona, because ever since their roads connected they are undividable.

**Disclaimer: **Soul Eater belongs to Ohkubo Atsushi, Square Enix and Shônen GanGan. Not me. No, sir. The song "Get Out Alive" belongs to Three Days Grace.

**Warning: **Spoilers for the manga. They might get heavier as the story progresses.

* * *

><p><strong>Eight: Get Out Alive.<strong>

_If I stay it won't be long_

_Till I'm burning on the inside,_

_If I go I can only hope_

_That I'll make it to the other side…_

She's not supposed to be here.

"Maka?" He glares at the Demon. "What kind of trick is this?"

"I don't know, I didn't invite her here!" He excuses himself, hands in the air.

"What do you think you're doing?" She asks, glaring at him.

"I should be asking you the same thing!" He responds, eyes wide open. He's got some nerve. "How the hell did you get here? How are we even resonating if you're unconscious?"

"I woke up". She says, still upset. "I woke up and as soon as I did our souls connected again".

"Wha-? But I lost you! I felt it, when you passed out our link broke!"

"But I reconnected!" She yells. She's so mad at him. "And the first thing I find is that _you're using the Black Blood on your own!_ Haven't you learned anything?"

She starts walking up to him, her heels stepping over a few blood-rain drops, but she doesn't even care. She wants to punch him in the face, _repeatedly_. Have you taken a look at yourself?"

"Maka, I-" He tries to step back, but she's faster. In a second she's in front of him, pushing him back.

"You're bleeding! Crona's bleeding! The whole damn place is destroyed!" She punches him in the arm. "What in the world could lead you to think that using the Black Blood on your own was a good idea? Don't you remember what happened the last time?"

Because she does. The last time he went insane on them, Professor Stein had to fight him while he tried to recover his senses, he hurt Jackie, and he even _pulled her hair_. But more importantly, he scared her. She had thought that she had lost him forever, that he would never go back to normal; just why would he want to do that again?

"I do, but-" She punches his other arm. "Stop doing that! I couldn't do anything else!"

She slaps his arm instead. "Couldn't do anything else? What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I offered him an option and he took it". The Red Imp intervenes, sitting comfortably on the tall chair. "Since his Meister was nowhere to be found, he had to take action upon himself. It's his duty, you know".

Well, it was true, she had technically disappeared for a few minutes… or hours…

She lets her guard down. Soul was trying to protect her, as usual, and in return, she breaks into his mind and beats him up. Not fair.

"But…" She protests, her voice lower but equally anxious. "You could have waited for me".

"Couldn't". He shakes his head. "Crona was this close to killing both of us in one move".

Oh, God, it's all her fault. Why did she have to pass out in the middle of a fight? This has never happened to her before! And who knows how long it took her to come back! She had that argument with her Angel self, and she had to rebuild her strength… Maybe this fight has been going for hours!

Outside, Crona stabs him. Inside, more Blood starts pouring down on them. Maka realizes this and opens her mouth in horror, looking at Soul with a pained expression. It's only now that she realizes what he's holding: it's a bubble of light… with wings.

"What is that?" She asks curiously.

"Nothing". He answers, and tries to hide it behind his back.

"It's the guarantee". The Imp answers for him.

"Shut. Up". Soul glares daggers at him.

"Guarantee?" She asks, confused, looking at the Imp for answers, knowing that Soul will give her nothing.

"The deal doesn't say anything about giving her information". The Demon says smiling.

"The deal?" She raises an eyebrow. "What is going on?"

"Nothing is going on". Soul says. He's a terrible liar, all things considered. "You need to get out of here".

"Me? What? No! I'm not going anywhere until I know what the hell is going on here".

"It's better if you don't know". He pushes her back toward the door with one hand, holding the bubble of light with the other. She notices how the room's colors have faded, how the blood pouring over them is starting to form small pools on the floor, how the Imp sits all high and smug.

Something is wrong. Something is very, very wrong.

"Wait, wait up a second!" She stops to stand firmly on the floor. "I'm not leaving until I get an explanation".

She crosses her arms. He sighs. "If I tell you, you'll get mad".

"I'm already mad. I don't think it can get any worse". She answers, and the Imp laughs at the incredibly lame pun.

"Alright…" Soul sighs, bringing a hand to cover his face. He doesn't want to look at her, he looks ashamed. "Look, you were unconscious, and Crona was going to kill you, and… there was nothing I could do. I couldn't… take her out on my own… I needed… help".

"I know that part".

"So I made a deal with that guy". And now he's looking away. "I gave him full control over me, with one exception: he can't hurt you, even if you attack first".

He blurted it out so fast, she couldn't hear anything after 'I gave him full control'. She opens her mouth in disbelief.

Never in her life did she expect him to do something so irrational, so dangerous, so _stupid_. He's supposed to be the cool one!

"Soul, you IDIOT!" And she pulls a book out of nowhere. And beats him. And then falls to the floor. And starts crying. "Are you kidding me? You've been fighting against this _thing_ for so long and now you just surrender to it?"

Her tears are falling uncontrollably. She was supposed to save them both, and now they've both fallen to the insanity.

She falls to the floor, next to him, and cries with her head in her hands.

"Maka…" His voice is so… painful to hear. "I'm sorry. I am. But I did it for your safety. You need to understand-"

"I don't want to understand!" She keeps sobbing, her heart hurts so much. "This is my fault, I left you alone and you made a desperate decision for my sake".

He puts a hand on her back, trying to comfort her. "It's not your fault, I chose to do this on my own".

"That's what you always say!" She says, finally looking at him. "And yet you always get hurt. And now… now I've lost you for real".

"Maka…" He starts to rub her back softly. "Listen. It's gonna be fine… Black*Star and the others must be on their way… When they get here, they will help you and you can kill this guy… he won't fight back".

"Wouldn't I be killing you as well?" She asks, though she knows the answer. He doesn't say anything. "Your solution is for me to kill you while my best friend is murdered by my other friends? Is that the ending that you want me to have?"

"No, it's…" It's all fucked up, that's what it is. "I still think you can save Crona, you'll find a way. We just need to weaken her first".

"Soul, how…" Her eyes are starting to water again, while her heart feels like it's being stabbed. "How can you be thinking about that now? How can you expect me to kill my own partner?"

"It's the only way". He repeats, looking down. "You're the only person that he won't attack. You're the only one who can-"

"I won't". She shakes her head. "I could never-"

"Listen to me, Maka". He looks at her again, holding one of her hands. "I know it will be hard at first, but once you look at the destruction that it has caused, and that will cause if you don't stop it, you'll be able t-"

"No!"

"I could kill everyone!"

"I don't care!"

"Don't give me that, you stubborn idiot! I could kill our friends, our families… I could kill Crona right now if you don't stop me!"

"Why are you doing this to me?" She yells at him, slaps him. She's shaking. "Why are you forcing me to murder the only guy I… I…?"

And even now, it can't be said.

"It was either that, or having to kill the most important person for you…" And he's looking away again. "I know you can still save her, I'm just keeping you alive in the meantime. But I'm sure that even now, I'm not strong enough to take her down, and in any case, I wouldn't want you spending your life without her".

He squeezes her hand a little tighter. Is this supposed to make her feel better?

"But I don't want to spend my life without you, either". She covers their locked hands with her free one. "I just can't imagine going on without you".

"It's alright". He says smiling weakly, falsely. "It's gonna be hard at first, but… you'll have no trouble finding a new partner".

She feels that throbbing pain in her heart again. "I'm never gonna find a new partner, because I'm not gonna lose you. I'm not going to hurt you, Soul".

"It won't have any long-term consequences. You won't be judged for killing your own weapon, because it's justified. He went nuts and attempted to kill you. I think, in any case, it will make you more of a badass". He grins. She doesn't buy it for a second. "You're the coolest Meister in the world and you deserve a future. A happy, successful future".

She can't link 'happy future' and 'without Soul' together. It doesn't make any sense.

"That's why…" He continues, standing up, but never letting go of her hand. "I need to get you out of here".

"No…" She pleads, weakly.

"Maka". He says, seriously. "Soon the Black Blood will flood this place. That means that my soul will get completely infected, except for this".

He shows her the light sphere. "This is the only part of my common sense that will live on no matter what. It's my loyalty to you, my instinct to protect you. If you don't leave now, everything will be worthless, you'll get infected, too, and then no one will be able to stop me. So, come on".

He tugs at her hand, but she's heavier. Maybe it's because her long black dress is soaked in blood, or maybe it's because she's just stubborn. Either way, she won't get up. She can't.

"Maka, come on".

"I'm not leaving". She won't cry anymore, she will stand her ground.

"If you don't, even with your wavelength, you'll be infected directly. I can't have you losing your mind now. Come on". He keeps tugging at her, as the demon chuckles.

"We're partners, Soul". She starts pulling him instead. "If we live, we live together; if we die, we die together. You should come with me instead".

"I can't. I can't leave. This is my mind, if I'm not here, I will lose control over it. This guy will completely take over and I'll disappear". He looks at the sphere again. "If I leave, he will take this, too".

"Then… I guess I don't have a choice". And she lets him bring her to her feet. "I'll let it consume us both".

"What?" He yells, completely taken aback. "No! You can't! You have to save yourself!"

The demon is now nibbling on his fingers again, laughing hysterically.

"What are _you_ so happy about?" Soul snaps at it.

"She'd rather die with you than live without you". It answers giddily. "Told you it would be romantic".

She blushes slightly, but he's thinking of something completely different, yet related.

"You…" He's glaring furiously at the demon. "You knew this would happen, didn't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about". It feigns ignorance.

"You knew that she would want to stay rather than kill us both, right? That's why you agreed to my terms!"

"Well, I agreed not to hurt her, but of course I didn't expect her to hurt _you_; if you die, I will die too, that's not convenient". It jumps off the chair, walking around it like some quirky old-fashioned detective. "However, if I can get you to spread the Black Blood to her and you're both under my control, I'll have a blast!"

"You bastard!" He speaks through clenched jaws.

"Both of you combined under the effects of the Blood will be invincible, taking down that chick with the swords and absorbing her soul". Maka shivers at the thought. "Hers is powerful and corrupted. It's worth thousands of kishin souls. After that, no one will stop you. No one will stop _me_".

"Maka". Soul speaks seriously again. "Leave".

"I can't leave you here!" She whines stubbornly.

"You have to, you idiot!" He stares at her angrily, his face on hers, as if he's about to hit her, and she instinctively steps back. Under normal circumstances, she would kick his ass, but right now he looks so damn menacing. "You're always holding me back, I'm always getting hurt because of you!"

He keeps doing this, almost stepping on her as she backs away from him. He's scary. This is not the Soul she knows. "You're so stupid and reckless, you always drag me down, you can't fucking fix your own problems, you're nothing but a nuisance!"

Now he's screaming in her face, so many painful words. And he's walking faster, too. She closes her eyes as she steps backwards, fearing he might just eat her alive. "You're a stupid, useless, ugly bookworm and I hate you so much".

"You don't mean that!" She says as her eyes snap open.

"No, I don't". And then he pushes her out of the door and locks it after she's gone.

She's back to the nothingness. "Soul?"

She can't believe what just happened, he actually forced her to leave his mind. He tried to scare her away with lies, and she was stupid enough to let him.

"Soul?" She tries to knock on the door, but there's none… It's gone. Where the hell is he? Why can't she find him? "Soul, you jerk! Don't walk away from me! Don't fucking walk away during a fight!"

She's yelling at the top of her lungs, but the only response is silence. "You're a coward, you know that? How could you leave me alone?"

She breaks down in tears. Stupid men and their stupid ideas. If he really wants to protect her, if he really wants her to be alright, he should consider her opinion, right?

She would have chosen to stay with him, and they would have figured things out… but that idiot! He always has to make the stupidest decisions.

"You're such an idiot…" She sobs. "I would never hurt you, you should know that…"

The darkness shows her the way back to her own soul. If he won't let her back in, then she'll have to find another way.

She will save them both, no matter what it takes.


	9. 09 Song To Say Goodbye

"**Snapshot" **By RavenAK.

Apparently unconnected moments in time, about everything, about nothing, about them. Soul/Maka/Crona, because ever since their roads connected they are undividable.

**Disclaimer: **Soul Eater belongs to Ohkubo Atsushi, Square Enix and Shônen GanGan. Not me. No, sir. The song "Song To Say Goodbye" belongs to Placebo.

**Warning: **Spoilers for the manga. They might get heavier as the story progresses.

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><p><strong>Nine: Song to say Goodbye.<strong>

_You were Mother Nature's son,_

_Someone to whom I could relate,_

_Your needle and your damage done_

_Remains a sordid twist of fate…_

"My blood is black".

Indeed it is. But the color is hardly the only difference. It's thicker than regular blood, and it changes shape as it changes medium. It takes the form of a sword, of needles, and now even thorns.

And it hurts. Badly. It rips through his own skin, stings, perforates, _hurts_. He can't tell anymore which stains are of his own blood and which ones belong to her. It's all the same, though. She was the one to infect him in the first place. His blood is hers, and hers is his.

So it doesn't matter which one of them bleeds to death first, right?

It doesn't matter if they both fall, right?

It doesn't matter if it's painful… right?

Watching the fight unfold is like having his mind split in two. He sits at the Black Room, watching, unable to do a thing, and it's just like watching a movie, save for the unspeakable pain that shoots through his entire being whenever Crona stabs him, or Ragnarok stuns him.

It's the pain reminding him that it's real, that his fear is justified, that it's _him_ who's killing this one person who reminds him so much of himself, who shares his same blood…

…and the memories of wanting to destruct his own flesh and blood some time ago, start coming back to him, so shamelessly, because insanity is like this, it sets him free, so free of guilt and regret.

And, subtly and abruptly at the same time, Crona's face is no longer hers, and it looks a ton like his brother now.

His grin widens as he plays, madly, out of tune, the song his brother used to play, on his scythe-keyboard, and then changes it into something completely different –darker, uglier- halfway through. Because this is the person he is. Dark and twisted and so very _free_. And murdering the song that he took so much pride in, is like smothering Wes till there's no more air left in him.

Crona covers her ears in pain, as Ragnarok screams, trying to make the sound die, but his laughter drowns everything else around him.

This is (not) him. It's the Little Demon, it's (not) himself. He tries to reassure himself that he would never, ever kill his own blood, because it would be like killing himself, and he does (not) have self-destructive tendencies. _Right?_

"This music is too loud, I don't know how to deal with it". And Wes becomes Crona again. "I'm just going to kill you, I'll kill you and make you shut up!"

"Nice luck _trying_". He answers. He doesn't recognize himself anymore. And he attempts to slice Crona's limbs off again.

He doesn't know how long this fight will take, but he hopes that his friends will arrive in time to make it stop before they bleed to death.

"I don't want to obey these rules anymore…" Crona repeats as a mantra, blocking all of his attacks. "I want to be free, I don't want to obey anymore".

"I can relate to that". He answers. "I'll destroy you, I'll destroy everything until there's no more noise".

The senseless fight goes on and on until all he sees is black. Blood. His own. Crona's. Their clothes. It's all the same. There's blood spattered everywhere both on the battlefield and inside of his mind.

He holds onto the winged light sphere and feels his soul tremble. Fear is what drove him to this place, fear is what drove Crona here as well, and fear is what made the Kishin what it is.

But courage is not enough.

"Come on, dance, give in, don't be so gloomy". The Imp encourages him. "We're about to win this".

"I'm not so sure". A part of him wishes for Crona to kill him, to end with his pain and guilt, and with the Imp's smugness; but that would mean leaving Maka behind, unprotected. If he kills Crona instead, Maka will never forgive him.

He hopes that something will tragically kill them both in a mysterious way.

"You annoy me". Crona says. "Why won't you give up and die?"

She jumps using one of her swords for leverage, and kicks him in the face, thorns growing out of her foot. He falls to his side, but quickly returns the favor, turning his leg into a blade and sliding it across her ankle, bringing her to the ground as well.

"I can't afford to die. It's too troublesome". He manages to get up, wiping the blood off of his face. He looks at the girl on the ground, wincing in pain while Ragnarok screams at her to get up, _now_. "See ya".

His intention is to chop off her head while she's busy tending to her foot, but Ragnarok materializes out of her shoulder and uses his infamous screech. While he's stunned, she gets up again, and Ragnarok's full dragon form takes over, wings extended fiercely and screaming a desperate tune.

He goes back a few steps, preparing for the attack, but as Crona starts to take flight, his Meister appears out of nowhere and stands right between them, staring at him with an expression he can't decode.

Idiot.

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><p><strong>Author's Notes: <strong>I'm sorry it took me for freaking ever to update, real life has been mean to me. Also I can't write fight scenes. Sorry, readers.


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